This paper investigates how IT application orchestration – a dynamic capability encapsulating a firm’s ability to refresh its application portfolio through a process of building, buying, and retiring IT applications – impacts firm performance. We propose a conceptual model in which the effect of IT
application orchestration on firm performance is mediated by process agility. We further propose that a
firm’s strategic orientation moderates the effect of IT application orchestration capability on process
agility. Analysis of data from an international survey of IT executives supports our proposed hypotheses.
This research contributes to the emergent literature on dynamic capabilities by proposing and testing a
theory of how IT application orchestration capability affects agility and firm performance.